The Behavior of 3,3-Diphenylindan-1,2-dione Towards Alkyl Phosphites

Summary. The reaction of 3,3-diphenylindan-1,2-dione with trimethyl phosphite in dry benzene at room temperature for about 15 h led to the formation of a mixture containing dimethyl (3,3-diphenyl-2-methoxy-1-indenyl)phosphate and dimethyl (3,3-diphenyl-1H-2-oxo-1-indanyl)phosphate, whereas with triisopropyl phosphite, diisopropyl (3,3-diphenyl-2-isopropoxy-1-indenyl)phosphate is the only product. Treatment of the dione with dialkyl phosphites under different experimental conditions gave dialkyl (3,3-diphenyl-1-hydroxy-2-oxo-1-indanyl)phosphates. Reaction mechanisms are presented which account for the experimental results. Structural assignments of the new compounds are based on the spectroscopic evidences and two examples were elucidated by X-ray crystallography.